The island of Samothrace in the North Aegean has the tallest mountain of any Aegean island – Mt. Fengari. Because of this, a Greek hippie population has developed on Samothrace – something maybe akin to how Northern California became popular with American hippies because of its natural beauty and social tolerance. As an odd contrast, the main town of the island is popular with Austrian tourists taking their beach holidays.
Lesvos – sometime spelled Lesbos – lies further south of Samothrace, but north of Patmos and the Dodecanese. It's a much larger island than Patmos and as ne might guess, is the origin of the word Lesbian. The Ancient Greek poet Sappho from Levos wrote extensively about love between women and in so doing made her island permanently associated with female homosexuality – producing not only the term Lesbian, but also Sapphism and Sapphist which were more common terms for lesbians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Of course Lesvos is a multidimensional island with more than women attracted to one another. In the past five years Lesvos gained some notoriety as in one of the islands on which the Greek government established migrant camps during the mass cross-Mediterraneans migrations. For most Lesbians (who are not necessarily lesbians), life is all the same as it is for anyone overwork – work, school, family, friends, goats, figs, beaches. But, every September an international group of visitors descends to celebrate their pride in being lesbians. Sappho Women host the International Erresos Women's Festival which is basically a Gay Pride convention specifically for – or at least about – lesbians.
As I sat in Manos' office, staring at one of his large computer monitors, he walked me through a Google Map of the Aegean – giving me the highlights of a number of islands from a cultural and historical perspective. In my experience, lawyers don't often spend 20 to 30 minutes talking about history and culture in the middle of their workday – especially when they will be leaving town in a few days. But Patmos – or at least Manos (which are sort of synonymous given he's one of two attorneys on the island and the only one anyone has ever recommended to me) - is different. Manos had mentioned he was going to Mytilene – another name for Lesbos based on its main town – aboard the Blue Star Diagoras. I have the seen that ferry multiple times, but have figure out where it goes, in part because the route listed on the Blue Star website doesn't include a stop at Patmos.
Manos was happy to clear up my long-standing point of curiosity in detail. In fact, Diagoras has a special summer route for only two or three months that spans from Northern Greece – often Thessaloniki or Kavala - all the way down to the islands of the Dodecanese, terminating at Leros. Basically it runs a long, north-south route that takes almost 48 hours from start to finish. Thus it stops at Patmos only twice a week – once when heading to Lesvos and the other when heading back up towards Kavala or Thessaloniki.
I was prepared for the conversation to end with that informative and thorough answer – again, because Manos is a lawyer with many important issues to attend. Instead, we wandered into how Leros differs from Patmos and how because of its deep natural harbor, Mussolini had built a major Italian naval base there in the interwar period and upon the defeat of Italy by the Allies, the Germans attacked on the very same day, trying to take Leros for itself. Apparently, it was the largest air-battle in the Mediterranean of of the Second World War. Right there on little Leros just across from Patmos where I took the kids on a day trip last year. What a strange place for a battle.
Manos – who I suspect is a History Channel addict – knew all about found bodies, planes pulled up from the sea floor and unexploded bombs.
He also pointed out how each island has its own character and is its own little world – which include lesbian and hippy enclaves as well as beacons for Austrian or German or British tourists. Different nationalities and backgrounds have found favorite vacation islands which they share within their communities. Those in turn change the character of the island at least to the extent of how they develop their tourism – which amenities, concepts and businesses are necessary or will thrive.
Almost like a buffet, the 227 inhabited islands of Greece offer a huge span of experiences. Mykonos is known as a place to party. Santorini's Cycladic charm seems to have become something EVERYONE must see to the point tourists and locals are complaining about how the tourism is eroding the quality of the island. Rhodes has a modern towns with resorts, bars, nightclubs, excellent restaurants and gorgeous beaches – but also Crusader fortresses, Roman castles, cute white villages, donkey trails and Ottoman-built defenses. Corfu and Samos are green with forests and lushness. Crete has a small city, the palace of the Minotaur at Knosos and towns built by Venetians that look more like they belong in Italy that Greece. The experiences are diverse.
Patmos is not the best known island – thank the Lord. It still seems to have more of a religious following due to the Cave of the Apocalypse and Monastery of St John than it does a following among summer vacationers. Still, it's not unknown and has enough vacationers to power its economy.
"Last year, my friends told me that since I'm now a Patmos girl, the first rule of Patmos is don't talk about Patmos," this young Lebanese woman at Petra told us yesterday after Ailyn complimented her clear jelly water shoes. Our new friend who had lived in London and spoke English with a British accent told us she was looking for a house to buy on Patmos. She plans to always come back – it's exactly what she wants and where she feels comfortable.
One of the things she likes – which was surprising to me for a young woman I would guess to be in her mid-twenties – was what Ziv called Patmos' innocence: the lack of nightlife or a singles scene. Patmos is more or less families, couples and low-key. There are bars as in places that serve alcohol, but not in the sense of a bar scene. There are luxuries and comforts – but not ostentatiousness. The people who bring their Range Rovers and Mercedes or BMW SUV's from Athens get sneers from locals and regular Patmos vacationers alike. The SUV's just clog up narrow roads, tight parking lots and small intersections. They aren't valued as status – they are impediments to enjoyment of the island and show the driver is not in the know.
"I think there are more Greek people staying here this year," Sennen remarked on the way to dinner last night.
That resonated. Two years ago in the wake of COVID, the island was flooded with Italians at this time. Certainly, some Italians have arrived, smoking their cigarettes and cigarillos, standing in conversation circles in the water, six people clustered around two sunbeds chatting and visiting as is their nature. But it's not the loud, smoky throngs of two years ago. There are still smatterings of French who made up most of the July crowd and the occasional English speaker like us or a couple of American guys at Petra yesterday. Sometimes a British couple or family. The rest seems to be Greeks on domestic vacations.
If my bookings are any indication, I have one French and three Greek bookings for the time after I leave – four if you count Maria and Giannis coming to stay. It makes sense Greek vacationers – especially those from Athens – would be here. How far does one need to travel when you have a country with incredible vacation spots people from around the world come to visit? For Greeks, it's cheaper and convenient. Of course they're enjoying their own country.
I think Greek dominance of the vacation scene is also an indicator of economic downturn globally. In the past, visitors from other countries willing to spend more money filled up a lot of the lodging of Patmos and other places. The average Brit, American or even Italian can outspend the average Greek. I think this year, people are being more careful with their money – either feeling tighter under the weight of inflation or just being cautious for potentially worse times to come. It may be more than Greeks preferring domestic vacations this summer.
Who knows – maybe the Sappho Women on Lesbos will have a lower turnout than usual next month? That will be an indicator to watch.
For us in our final week and days on Patmos, the beach is full, but not bursting at the seams. It's busy, but we can find parking. The Range Rovers and Mercedes Sprinter vans that suddenly appeared this week are annoying, but not pervasive as two years ago. If we're going to be here in the peak of the season, I guess it kinda' works out. We're unexpected beneficiaries of global financial uncertainty.
Of course, our departure at the end of the week is what's creeping into the kids' consciousness – especially Sennen's. Our last weekend day on Patmos is a tough pill to swallow. The kids want to enjoy it fully and also wish more were coming. As do I. We'll just stay focused on the fact that more will come – next year. Our Patmos story isn't over, it's just one of many chapters coming to a close. The book is ours to continue writing and to keep.
